CHAPTER VIII--WHAT WAS ON THE RECORDS
"Now, what can you do with a feller like that?" demanded Mr. Hicks, indisgust. "Poor old Ike has been shinning around Sally Dickson ever sinceLem brought her home from school--from Denver. And she's a nice littlegal enough, at that; but she ain't got no use for Ike and he ought tosee it. Gals out here don't like fellers that ain't got sperit enough tosay their soul's their own. And Ike's so bashful he fair hates hisself!You've noticed that."
"But he's just as kind and good-natured as he can be," declared Ruth,her pony cantering on beside the ranchman's bigger mount.
"That don't help a feller none with a gal like Sally," grunted Mr.Hicks. "She don't want a reg'lar _gump_ hanging around her. Makes herthe laffin' stock of the hull range--don't you see? Ike better git a moveon, if he wants her. 'Tain't goin' to be no bashful 'ombre that getsSally Dickson, let me tell ye! Sendin' her lollipops by messenger--bah!He wants ter ride up and hand that gal a ring--and a good one--if heexpects to ever git her into double harness. Now, you hear me!"
"Just the same," laughed Ruth, "I'm going to buy the nicest box of candyI can find, and she shall know who paid for it, too."
And she found time to purchase the box of candy while Mr. Hicks wasattending to his own private business in Bullhide. The town boasted ofseveral good stores as well as a fine hotel. Ruth went to the railroadstation, however, where there was sure to be fresh candies from theEast, and she bought the handsomest box she could find. Then she wroteIke's name nicely on a card and had it tucked inside the wrapper, andthe clerk tied the package up with gilt cord.
"I'll make that red-haired girl think that Ike knows a few things, afterall, if he is less bold than the other boys," thought Ruth. "He's beenreal kind to me and maybe I can help him with Sally. If she knew beansshe'd know that Ike was true blue!"
Mr. Hicks came along the street and found her soon after Ruth's errandwas done and took her to the office of the young lawyer he hadmentioned. This was Mr. Savage--a brisk, businesslike man, who seemed toknow at once just what the girl wished to discover.
"You come right over with me to the county records office and we'll lookup the history of those Tintacker Mines," he said. "Mr. Hicks knows agood deal about mining properties, and he can check my work as we goalong."
So the three repaired to the county offices and the lawyer turned up thefirst records of the claims around Tintacker.
"There is only one mine called Tintacker," he explained. "The adjacentmines are Tintacker _claims_. The camp that sprang up there andflourished fifteen years ago, was called Tintacker, too. But for morethan ten years the kiotes have held the fort over there for the mostpart--eh, Mr. Hicks?"
"And that crazy feller that's been around yere for some months," theranchman said.
"What crazy fellow is that?" demanded Lawyer Savage, quickly.
"Why, thar's been a galoot around Tintacker ever since Spring opened. Idunno but he was thar in the winter----"
"Young man, or old?" interrupted Savage.
"Not much more'n a kid, my boys say."
"You've never seen him?"
"No. But I believe he set the grass afire the other day, and made us aheap of trouble along Larruper Crick," declared the ranchman.
The lawyer looked thoughtful. "There was a young fellow here twice tolook up the Tintacker properties. He came to see me the first time--thatwas more than a year ago. Said he had been left his father's share inthe old Tintacker Mine and wanted to buy out the heirs of the otherpartner. I helped him get a statement of the record and the names of theother parties----"
"Oh, please, Mr. Savage, what was his name?" asked Ruth, quickly.
"I don't know what his name really _was_," replied the lawyer, smiling."He called himself John Cox--might have been just a name he took for thetime being. There wasn't any Cox ever had an interest in the Tintackeras far as I can find. But he probably had his own reasons for keepinghis name to himself. Then he came back in the winter. I saw him on thestreet here. That's all I know about him."
"Tenderfoot?" asked Hicks.
"Yes, and a nice spoken fellow. He made a personal inspection of theproperties the first time he was here. That I know, for I found a guidefor him, Ben Burgess. He stayed two weeks at the old camp, Ben said, andacted like he knew something about minerals."
Mr. Savage had found the proper books and he discovered almost at oncethat there had been an entry made since he had last looked up therecords of Tintacker a year or more before.
"That fellow did it!" exclaimed the lawyer. "He must have found thoseother heirs and he's got possession of the entire Tintacker Mineholdings. Yes-sir! the records are as straight as a string. And therecord was made last winter. That is what he came back here for. Now,young lady, what do you want to know about it all?"
"I want a copy, please, of the record just as it stands--the presentownership of the mine, I mean," said Ruth. "I want to send that to UncleJabez."
"It is all held now in the name of John Cox. The original owners weretwo men named Symplex and Burbridge. It is Burbridge's heirs this fellowseems to have bought up. Now, he told me his father died and left hisshare of the Tintacker to him. That means that 'Symplex' was this youngCox's father. One, or the other of them didn't use his right name--eh?"suggested the lawyer.
"But that doesn't invalidate the title. It's straight enough now. TheTintacker Mine--whether it is worth ten cents or ten thousanddollars--belongs to somebody known as John Cox--somebody who can producethe deeds. You say your uncle bought into the mine and took personalnotes with the mine for security, Miss?"
"That is the way I understand it," Ruth replied.
"And it looks as though the young man used the money to buy out theother owners. That seems straight enough. Your uncle's security is allclear as far as the title of the mine goes----"
"But according to what I know," broke in Mr. Hicks, "he might as wellhave a lien on a setting of hen's eggs as an interest in the TintackerMine."
"That's about it," admitted Mr. Savage. "I don't believe the mine isworth the money it cost the young fellow to have these records made."
"Well," said Ruth, with a sigh; "I'll pay you for making the copy, justthe same; and I'll send it home to uncle. And, if you don't mind, Mr.Savage, I'll send him your name and address, too. Perhaps he may wantyou to make some move in the matter of the Tintacker property."
This was agreed upon, and the lawyer promised to have the papers readyto send East in two or three days. Then Mr. Hicks took Ruth to the hotelto dinner, and they started for the ranch again soon after that meal.
When they came in sight of the Crossing, Ruth saw that the little redpainted schoolhouse was open. All the windows were flung wide and thedoor was ajar; and she could see Sally Dickson's brilliant hair, as wellas other heads, flitting back and forth past the windows.
"Hi Jefers!" ejaculated Bill Hicks. "I reckon thar's goin' to be a danceat the schoolhouse Saturday night. I nigh forgot it. We'll all hafter goover so that you folks from Down East kin see what a re'l Montanyjamboree is like. The gals is fixin' up for it now, I reckon."
"I want to see Sally," said Ruth, smiling.
"Huh!" grunted Bill, with a glance at the big box of candy the Easterngirl held so carefully before her. "You kin see her all right. That redhead of hers shines like a beacon in the night. And I'll speak to Lem."
Ruth rode her pony close to one of the open windows of the littleschoolhouse. She could see that the benches and desks had been all movedout--probably stacked in a lean-to at the end of the house. The floor hadbeen swept and mopped up and the girls were helping Sally trim the wallsand certain pictures which hung thereon with festoons of colored paper.One girl was polishing the lamp chimneys, and another was filling andtrimming the lamps themselves.
"Oh, hullo!" said the storekeeper's daughter, seeing Ruth at the window,and leaving her work to come across the room. "You're one of those youngladies stopping at Silver Ranch, aren't you?"
"No," said Ruth, smiling. "I'm on
e of the girls visiting Jane Ann. Ihope you are going to invite us to your party here. We shall enjoycoming, I am sure."
"Guess you won't think much of our ball," returned Sally Dickson. "We'replain folk. Don't do things like they do East."
"How do you know what sort of parties we have at home?" queried Ruth,laughing at her. "We're not city girls. We live in the country and getour fun where we can find it, too. And perhaps we can help you have agood time--if you'll let us."
"Well, I don't know," began Sally, yet beginning to smile, too; nobodycould be _grouchy_ and stare into Ruth Fielding's happy face for long.
"What do you do for music?"
"Well, one of the boys at Chatford's got a banjo and old Jim Casey playsthe accordion--when he's sober. But the last time the music failed us,and one of the boys tried to whistle the dances; but one feller that wasmad with him kept showing him a lemon and it made his mouth twist up sothat he couldn't keep his lips puckered nohow."
Ruth giggled at that, but said at once:
"One of my friends plays the piano real nicely; but of course it wouldbe too much trouble to bring Jane Ann's piano away over here. However,my chum, Helen, plays the violin. She will bring it and help out on themusic, I know. And we'd _all_ be glad of an invitation."
"Why, sure! you come over," cried Sally, warming up to Ruth's advances."I suppose a bunch of the Silver outfit boys will be on hand. Some of'em are real nice boys----"
"And that reminds me," said Ruth, advancing the package of candy. "Oneof the gentlemen working for Mr. Hicks asked me to hand you this, MissDickson. He was very particular that you should get it safely." She putthe candy into the red-haired girl's hands. "And we certainly will beover--all of us--Saturday evening."
Before Sally could refuse Ike's present, or comment upon it at all, Ruthrode away from the schoolhouse.